WHEN Guyana’s Parliament resumes tomorrow, it will mark exactly four months since President Irfaan Ali dissolved the 12th Parliament in advance of this year’s general elections.
Azruddin Mohamed, leader of the We Invest in Nationhood (WIN) party, alleged that his dramatic arrest two days ago was orchestrated by President Ali and Vice-President Bharrat Jagdeo to block his entry as Opposition Leader in Guyana’s 13th Parliament. This claim does not hold up to scrutiny; the timeline itself refutes the narrative.
In June 2024, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned the Mohameds and their company, Mohamed’s Enterprise, citing allegations of tax evasion, trade-based money laundering, and gold smuggling. Guyanese authorities were formally notified that the charges arose from a joint investigation involving the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Notably, there is no empirical evidence that the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) engineered the investigation resulting in the OFAC sanctions.
Accusations that the PPP is a perennial bogeyman, and branding Bharrat Jagdeo “evil” may be politically convenient, but it stretches credulity to assert that the PPP orchestrated the legal fall of a prominent businessman simply because he was seen as a threat to their administration.
In March 2025, the government received an extensive dossier of evidence from U.S. authorities under mutual legal assistance agreements. This dossier contained documentation regarding gold export irregularities, falsified customs declarations, and undeclared shipments seized in Miami. It expressly noted that the Mohameds would be processed under the extradition framework of the Fugitive Offenders Act, in full compliance with Guyanese law and the country’s Constitution.
While facing mounting legal trouble, and with the U.S. investigation intensifying, Azruddin launched the WIN party in June 2025, positioning himself for the September 1 general and regional elections. The gambit did not succeed; WIN failed to secure the parliamentary mandate it sought, and Azruddin’s political options narrowed significantly.
On October 6, an indictment was unsealed by a U.S. Grand Jury in the Southern District of Florida. Guyanese citizens learned that the Mohameds faced multiple charges, including wire and mail fraud, money laundering, conspiracy, aiding and abetting, and customs violations, linked to an alleged US$50 million scheme involving gold export and tax evasion. There was little surprise; the indictment was a predictable outcome in this expanding investigation.
That same day, the Mohameds’ attorney, Siand Dhurjon, notified Minister of Home Affairs Oneidge Walrond, Attorney-General Anil Nandlall, and Commissioner of Police Clifton Hicken that his clients were willing to “surrender to the authorities” and “participate in the lawful extradition processes… to vindicate themselves”.
President Ali announced on October 23 that Parliament would resume on November 3. Given that the Mohameds’ lawyer expressed his client’s willingness to submit to legal processes, it is implausible that Azruddin genuinely expected to be sworn in as Opposition Leader on Monday, November 3.
The Government of Guyana received a formal request to extradite Nazar and Azruddin Mohamed to the United States. The very next day, a team of attorneys secured an arrest warrant from a Georgetown Magistrate, which members of the Guyana Police Force executed on Friday morning.
The public witnessed Roysdale Forde, Darren Wade, and Nigel Hughes alongside Attorney-at-Law Dhurjon, shortly after the Mohameds were granted bail. Yet, the extent of their roles, both now and in the proceedings ahead, remains uncertain. Less visible to the public, however, was the appearance earlier that same morning of King’s Counsel Terrence Williams and Attorneys-at-Law Herbert McKenzie and Celine Deidrick before the Magistrate’s Court to obtain the arrest warrant.
If these names are unfamiliar, there is a good reason: Williams is a distinguished Jamaican attorney, former Director of Public Prosecutions in the British Virgin Islands, and the first Commissioner of Jamaica’s Independent Commission of Investigations. He also serves as an associate tutor at the Eugene Dupuch Law School in The Bahamas, while Deidrick and McKenzie have earned their legal credentials in Jamaica as well.
The case against the Mohameds, despite efforts by Azruddin and his sister to recast the narrative, is the product of a rigorous legal process. In the American legal system, the evidence collected by the DEA, FBI, DHS, IRS and U.S. Treasury was presented to a grand jury composed of 16 to 23 citizens.
The grand jury’s task is to examine the evidence in total secrecy. Neither the accused nor their defence attorneys are present during these proceedings. The grand jury’s responsibility is not to decide guilt or innocence but rather to decide whether there is ‘probable cause’ to believe a crime was committed by the accused. If they find such cause, a “true bill” is issued, resulting in a formal indictment.
For the Mohameds, the Florida indictment included 11 charges, a development that triggered their arrest and detention. When the accused resides outside the U.S., authorities initiate extradition proceedings, which is the stage we happen to be at.
It is not President Ali, VP Jagdeo, or the PPP who are orchestrating this process. Extradition and prosecution of accused like the Mohameds is a routine legal proceeding carried out in the United States thousands of times every year.
DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Guyana National Newspapers Limited.